It's natural, unforced, something that has risen from years of late night R&B studies, playing and re-playing her idols over and over.

Clash picked Rainy Milo to play our showcase at The Great Escape's First Fifty event last year, and we've been following her ever since.

Blossoming into something quite remarkable, the next 12 months could be crucial.

New song 'Hope And Glory' is online now, a salute to the necessity of self-love amid a culture obsessed with coupling.

The velvet delivery pushed Rainy Milo's songwriting to new heights, adding renewed depth and emotional nuance to her work.

Intrigued, Clash chatted with Rainy Milo about a few of her Influences...

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N*E*R*D - 'You Know What'

This is possibly one of my favourite songs ever. This track was on the album 'Seeing Sounds' - being so young, 'Seeing Sounds' was actually my introduction to N*E*R*D. I remember I bought the album with some pocket money I had saved at my local HMV.

I played this album over and over again for the entire summer of '08 - I loved the entire LP and how this band introduced me to a world of mixing genres and defying whats considered blendable in music. It inspired me to do the same with my music, to not exist in the realm of only sticking to one genre.

The production is just timeless to me, from the tucked guitar to the rhodes-type keys in the back... it's funky but chill - nothing about it was over or underdone. I just think of this track as a lesson in genius production as well as just enjoying it on a fan level.

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Corinne Bailey Rae - 'Just Like A Star'

Corinne Bailey Rae is one of my favourite female voices. I've always loved Corinne's purity in her tone and lyrics. This song always struck me and I remember I would come home from school and sing along with it with all the passion of having had heartbreak, even though this was before my first love haha!

As I've gotten older and come to truly understand the feelings she sings in the song, I’ve grown to love it even more and it has an even deeper comfort level in it for me now. Knowing that other people have experienced those heated moments with a loved one. Corinne definitely inspired me to talk about those more raw feelings in my songs.

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Amy Winehouse - 'Just Friends'

Ahhh Amy Amy Amy! I love her so much I can’t even explain. This song always reminded me of the old reggae tracks my grandad would play in his music room at my grandparents house.

Amy always had strikingly honest lyrics and 'Just Friends' is another example of her deeply honest words in song. Her jazz and reggae influence in her tracks always made me feel safe to explore my jazz roots in songs too. I feel as though Amy carved out a space for that type of sound in the modern music world and I’m grateful to her for having held the torch while she was here I’m forever inspired by her.

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Sarah Vaughan - 'Misty'

Sarah Vaughan is possibly the best female voice in jazz. Sarah's voice is such a beautiful instrument. After watching her perform this live on a YouTube video the footage was from the 60s and she had a cold that day and she still sounded incredible. I'm inspired by her tone and vocal control. I strive to have a fraction of her vocal control and sweetness as I grow older with my voice.

I love how older songs like this played with blue and slightly off notes. Very blue jazzy melodies have definitely found their way into my music and I often find myself gravitating toward writing more songs in minor keys than major.

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Frank Ocean - 'Sierra Leone'

More of an interlude than a song, but this is one of my top five from Frank. I'm so inspired by his ability to paint pictures in the listener's mind and tell beautiful abstract stories because that's what I see music should be stories; from a time in an artist's life that capture those moments forever.

I'm influenced by Frank's harmony choices in this song and the layering of the vocals is just outrageous. It's little things like that that influence me - music that flies over the listener's head on the first listen, but then later on it's like a beautiful present when you notice those moments.

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'Hope And Glory' is out now.

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